Woman and Society
For many years women were less important and less valued in everyday life than men. Their rights were very limited. They were not allowed to vote, to take part in public and political life, to drink alcoholic drinks and in some countries even to go to the street with covering everything expect their eyes. And if some women had broken that rules, they were punished, sometimes very severely, even by death. In fact, women were not always the weak one in society. Since primitive society, women have played different role in different society and in different times. In matriarchal society, women are important and more powerful than men. In paternal line society, men are everything to women. In primitive society, when production was simple and the population was low, women’s role as the bears of children was important and respected. Though men and women might have their separate tasks and rituals, women as well as men took part in the most important decisions, such as whether to move a settlement or male war on another band or tribe. Women and men had the same rights. For example, there is no prerogative in relation to the important sources of influence in San society. Since there is no formal leaders or hierar
chies, decisions are made on the basis of group consensus. Each group has people, whose opinion has more weight because of age, intelligence, charisma, knowledge or having ancestors who have lived in the area longer. These people tend to be more prominent in group discussions and despite their lack of formal authority, they function as group leader. Men occupy these positions more often than women, but old women, especially who’s with large families assumed such roles. Ownership of water holes is inherited through women as well as men. And although possession of water holes is symbolic it gives an important status to women. Further, in their marriage, woman is the one who ask man to marry her. Women’s family needs to prepare all the needs and expenses for the wedding. After woman and man get married, man can’t live with women until they are 50 years old. Man can’t go to woman’s house and visit his wife in the day. The only thing man can do is go to his wife’s house at night. And stay in their bed quietly, until he has his wife’s permission to talk. When dawn comes, man has to leave his wife’s house and go to work. After they are 50 years old, women and man finally live together. But man still has to serve his wife carefully, because woman has right to divorce with her husband. For example, theYanomamo tribe is paternal line culture. Male are oriented and very sexist. For some reason they believed that, they are superior to women. Yanomamo women are treated as materialistic objects and promised by their father or brother to a Yanomamo man in return for reciprocity. The reciprocity could be another Yanomamo women or political alliances. The trades are often practiced in the Yanomamo culture. Polygamy is also a part of the Yanomamo culture. Yanomamo women are kept in the male’s possession. The Yanomamo man tries to collect as many wives as he possibly can in order to demonstrate his power and masculinity. Since the industry revolution, women’s social stature has been change again, especially in the developed nations. In the twentieth century had come and brought two great wars. Most of men who before worked in fields and offices, on plants and factories, now went to the battlefields. Their workplaces had left without labor. But someone had to do it. Who? And then the society remembered about house-women and invited them to free workplaces. They agreed, started doing their new jobs well and got used to them. Women started to work in the industry factory and make money to supported family. They worked hard as men, but they didn’t get same respect and salary as men. Women have been tried and work hard to gain same rights as men. Now women can go to school for education, and vote for the election. For example, A-mei tribe, which located in Taiwan, is a typically matriarchal society. Women are the headmen of their society. The older women have more power and receive more respects. Women have rights to make all the decisions for their society, such as move a settlement and job arrangement. Also, in an independent A-mei’s family, wo
Some topics in this essay:
,
Polygamy Yanomamo,
Women Yanomamo,
society women,
yanomamo women,
paternal line,
tribe women,
family women,
matriarchal society,
women rights,
women women,
primitive society,
primitive society women,
role society,
paternal line culture,
paternal line society,
matriarchal society women,
Join now to see the rest of the essay!
Approximate Word count = 2078
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page double spaced)
More Essays on Woman and Society Professional Papers: |
CUSTOMER SERVICES
|
|
Saved Papers
You haven't saved any papers.
|